


Healing on a Deadline

by ao_no_senshi



Category: Ultraman Gaia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-22
Updated: 2011-02-22
Packaged: 2017-10-23 17:56:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/253181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ao_no_senshi/pseuds/ao_no_senshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Gamu gets staked by a vampire hunter, Katsumi has some damage control to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Healing on a Deadline

Katsumi paused in his dragging of the unconscious yakuza to get a better grip on the man. The back streets of Tokyo weren't exactly a safe haven and he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Gamu needed to feed and this lowlife was the first person he'd come across that wouldn't leave Gamu feeling guilty as hell when he felt better. Not that he wouldn't anyway, but Gamu had always been far too empathetic for a vampire and he suffered from those unfortunate things called morals and conscience. Katsumi was glad he'd never been burdened with either of them, Gamu's had caused them more than enough trouble over the years as it was.

There was a quiet groan that suggested the man was waking up and Katsumi frowned, knocking him out again before he could wake up properly and try to make this difficult. He scanned the area, trying to remember which way he'd come: he'd had to travel further than he liked to find someone Gamu would consider a legitimate source of blood donation and he didn't like leaving him alone so long, not with the shape he'd been in when Katsumi had left to go hunting. Recognising a sign hanging half off a building, Katsumi adjusted the yakuza man's weight and headed off again, certain of his route now that he had his bearings again. Gamu had better appreciate this, he grumbled to himself as he turned a corner. If it wasn't for Gamu's damn morals he could have found someone closer and he wouldn't have had to half carry, half drag them nearly as far.

After that it wasn't long before he was crouching next to Gamu, just about sitting up against the crumbling wall, really not liking how bad he looked. Gamu was pale at the best of times - being a vampire would do that - but he'd never looked as dead as he did now and that was worrying. He cast a baleful look at the body of the vampire hunter lying a few yards away. Should have snapped the bastard's neck sooner, then they wouldn't be in this mess. It wasn't often that he was too slow, but it happened occasionally and Gamu was paying the price for it this time.

"Gamu," he said softly, patting Gamu's face gently. "Gamu, wake up."

There was no reaction and a knot of worry tightened in Katsumi's gut. If Gamu was this unresponsive then there wasn't much time and he'd be stupid to waste it. Slipping the penknife out of his pocket, Katsumi slashed the blade across the yakuza's wrist before pressing said wrist against Gamu's mouth. This wasn't ideal but the only other option involved moving Gamu and as he'd just taken a stake in the stomach that was a risk Katsumi wasn't prepared to take.

 _Come on,_ he urged silently. _Start feeding._ For a few agonising moments it appeared that Gamu wouldn't oblige, then his lips cracked open a fraction, followed a heartbeat later with Gamu's canines sinking into the man's wrist. "Good," Katsumi breathed, reaching out to stroke Gamu's hair. "That's good. Keep going."

There was a quiet whimpering sound as Gamu's hands slowly moved to take hold of the yakuza's wrist and Katsumi let him take over, running his fingers through Gamu's hair reassuringly, moving to sit rather than crouch beside Gamu as relief left him feeling a little weak at the knees. "You'll be alright," he said quietly. "Don't overdo it." Much as he wouldn't care if the world was one yakuza short come morning, Gamu _would_ and he'd be unhappy if he thought he'd killed someone, even if that person was a yakuza. Hopefully it wouldn't take _all_ the blood in the man's body to kickstart Gamu's healing process, but if it did, well, Gamu's life was more important than some yakuza scum. He could deal with Gamu's guilt as long as Gamu was around to feel that guilt in the first place.

Time passed slowly as the two of them sat there, feeling like an eternity even if Katsumi knew better. Finally, however, just as Katsumi was starting to check the sky for signs of the approaching dawn - not easy with the heavy clouds obscuring the sky - Gamu stopped, lifting his head from the yakuza's wrist and letting the man's arm fall against the floor with a quiet smack. "Better?" Katsumi asked quietly, tugging Gamu's shirt up to examine the gash. It did look better, he had to admit, but it would be even better once Gamu had a chance to sleep it off.

Gamu nodded slowly, his fingers, colder than usual, brushing against Katsumi's as he pulled the hem of his shirt down again. "Yes. We should leave, Katsumi-san. Dawn isn't far off."

Katsumi nodded and got to his feet, holding out a hand to pull Gamu up carefully. Gamu could feel the approach of dawn while he couldn't: some kind of inbuilt vampire clock or something that let them know when they needed to find somewhere safe to hole up while the sun shone. "Come on," he said, when Gamu paused to get his balance, not letting go of Gamu's hand until he was steady. "Unless you particularly want to hang around here?"

Gamu smiled faintly and shook his head. "Not really." He frowned at the two bodies sprawled on the floor, only a few feet apart. "What about them?"

Katsumi shrugged, not bothering to even spare them a glance. "Leave them." Whether the yakuza made it through the night or not wasn't his problem and as far as he was concerned the hunter had had it coming the moment he'd tried to kill Gamu. Let the police deal with it in the morning, if they even found the bodies by then.

"Katsumi-san," Gamu protested. "We can't just..."

"We can," he said shortly. "Or did you forget how close dawn was?"

Gamu winced but started moving reluctantly, making a soft, pathetic sound as raindrops started falling on them. Katsumi wasn't too impressed by the rain, either: Gamu might not catch colds but he still could and he had no intention of suffering from such a stupid human illness again. It was inconvenient and completely demeaning, not being able to do anything but cough and sneeze while Gamu tried hard not to look too smug about not being able to catch colds anymore. At least they didn't have far to go, he thought in relief. They'd still be soaked by the time they got home but not as drenched as they otherwise would be. The rain came in useful for one thing, though, and that was clearing the streets of most of the remaining traffic: nobody would be wanting to do business in this weather so close to sun-up and it made their journey just that little bit faster.

He hustled Gamu into their small apartment and grabbed a couple of towels, tossing one in Gamu's direction and keeping the other to dry himself off as much as he could, leaving it draped around his shoulders once he was done. He filled the kettle and set it on the stove, craving something warm to drink. "You got time for some tea or something?" he called over his shoulder, his hand hovering over the second mug on the draining board as he waited for an answer.

"No," Gamu replied, closer than Katsumi had expected and he looked over his shoulder to find Gamu standing there, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry I worried you, Katsumi-san."

One of these days, Katsumi promised himself, he was going to break Gamu's habit of tacking -san onto his name all the time. It wouldn't be easy, though, he knew: it had taken over a century for Gamu to switch from 'Kajio-san' to 'Katsumi-san' and he'd stuck with the honorific with a determination that Katsumi couldn't help but admire, even though it was frustrating at times. He brushed his fingers lightly across Gamu's cheek, feeling his mouth curving up in a rueful smile. "Don't be," he replied. "If I'd gotten to that guy faster it wouldn't have been a problem in the first place."

"It wasn't your fault!" Gamu protested, but Katsumi shook his head. It was. He should have gotten there faster, that was all there was to it. Gamu sighed and wrapped his arms around Katsumi's chest awkwardly. "You're going to blame yourself anyway, aren't you?"

Katsumi shrugged, leaning into the embrace a little before gently disengaging Gamu's arms. "Let me worry about that," he said. "You worry about getting to bed before dawn hits. I'm not carrying you halfway across the apartment because you got too sentimental to make it there yourself."

Gamu laughed and tugged him close for a slow kiss that warmed him from top to bottom, the cool touch of Gamu's fingers moving up the back of his neck a sharp contrast to that warmth, reminding him that they were on a deadline here. He growled softly and pushed Gamu away with a frown. "Bed," he said sternly, folding his arms against the temptation to pull him back and pick up where they left off.

"I'm going, I'm going," Gamu sighed, pouting at him and that was really an unfair tactic, a fact Gamu was more than well aware of. Katsumi turned his back on the pout determinedly just as the kettle whistled and by the time he'd finished making his tea Gamu was lying on his futon, sheets wrapped tightly around him. He couldn't tell from here if Gamu was out yet or if he was just lying there, but he knew Gamu would be asleep by the time Katsumi himself made it to bed.

Making sure the dark cloth over the windows was still secure, Katsumi sank down at the table in the middle of the room, wrapping his hands around the mug of tea and listening to the rain pattering against the window panes. He'd join Gamu shortly but he was still too tightly wound to settle down just yet. He'd have to do better, he told himself grimly, make sure this didn't happen again. He wasn't losing Gamu to some nut with a stake who couldn't tell that Gamu wasn't the dangerous one.


End file.
